High ground over the Homeland: issues in the use of space assets for Homeland security - Features

Air & Space Power Journal, Spring, 2003 by Lt Col S. Didi Kuo

How the U.S. develops the potential of space for civil, commercial, defense and intelligence purposes will affect the nation's security for decades to come.

--Commission to Assess United States National Security: Space Management and Organization January 2001

THE ATTACK ON 11 September 2001 (9/11) has forever altered how Americans view their security at home. Homeland security is now a top priority for our country in the new war on terrorism. That attack has also transformed our government's approach to defending the homeland. Space assets are being used in the overseas battle against terrorism in intelligence gathering and support of military operations. Space-based surveillance also provides early warning for national missile defense. (1) However, there are several challenges to overcome before we can fully integrate space assets into the homeland-security framework for operations within our US borders.

Space Capabilities for Homeland Security

Space already plays an important role in the area of navigation and communication, and it provides the information infrastructure necessary for homeland security. Use of communication satellites, especially commercial ones, provides the backbone for many of the current homeland-security communication needs. The reliance on these satellites becomes even more critical in a crisis where terrestrial communications (both landlines and cellular) are unavailable. (2) Satellite communications provided a message of "assurance and resolve" at a time when the public-accessible communications infrastructure was in disarray. (3)

The Global Positioning System's (GPS) constellation of over 24 satellites has revolutionized the navigational field. (4) After 9/11, GPS attracted attention for its potential uses in homeland security as well as a terrorist target. (5) The integration of GPS into search and rescue and other emergency services is already widespread. After 9/11 major city leaders envisioned how GPS could be used to track certain vehicles and their contents. (6) Surveillance of vehicles belonging to suspected terrorists could also be done through GPS tagging devices. During a crisis response, all emergency vehicles, and even individual personnel, could be tracked by GPS by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Joint Operations Center. The discontinuation of "selective availability" increased the positional accuracy for civil users. The military, however, still receives greater positional accuracy because their encrypted receivers can better compensate for ionospheric error. (7) A study should be conducted to determine if homeland-security applications would benefit from that greater positional accuracy.

Weather information from satellites aids in preparedness and consequence management efforts. Real-time environmental data supports vulnerability and risk analyses while forecasts support the decisions that will guide preparation, protection, response, and recovery operations (8) After the 9/11 attack, the National Weather Service provided this information using special forecasts to assist decision makers in their recovery efforts. (9) Forecasting and realtime data were also provided in support of Operation Noble Eagle. (10)

Overhead signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection can aid in the detection and prevention of terrorist attacks. SIGINT's greatest potential lies in communications intelligence (COMINT)-the interception, monitoring, and location of communications systems and their voice content. (11) In light of the extensive planning done for 9/11, it is clear that domestic surveillance was not as aggressive as it should have been. (12) COMINT derived from space sensors is an additional tool to be added to the terrestrial COMINT systems for the collection of needed intelligence on terrorists in the United States. (13)

Remote sensing is perhaps one of the biggest contributions space can make to homeland security. It has long been used for intelligence and environmental purposes and has seen tremendous growth in the last decade through commercial and civil systems. National systems provide overhead imagery intelligence (IMINT) in the form of high-resolution images. Commercial and civil satellites can collect additional lower-resolution imagery. (14)

Remote sensing from space will play a role in homeland-security preparedness that very much resembles its counterpart mission in the military-intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB). (15) The National Spatial Data Infrastructure program is attempting to provide geographical information systems (GIS) for major cities to assist with preparedness for terrorist attacks. (16) Imagery with GIS data could be used to map political and governmental facilities, lines of communication (LOC) , choke points such as bridges and tunnels, food and water distribution points, and nuclear facilities. This information can be used both during threat assessments of potential terrorist targets and to aid first responders immediately after an attack.